The past couple of days have felt like we’ve jumped straight to late-spring. It’s warm, sunny, and windy, with record-setting temperatures today breaking through 80°. Things will get back closer to normal tonight.

It feels like spring, and it’s also suddenly starting to look a little more like spring. This time last year the daffodils were starting to come out. We’re not quite there yet–I haven’t seen any blooming yet this year–but there are definitely buds getting ready. And some of the other early spring flowers are starting to come out–all the photos below were taken this morning.

The unusually warm weather is helping to wake the cherry trees up from their winter dormancy, and when you look closely, the green buds are just starting to poke through.

The National Park Service will be issuing their peak bloom forecast next week. Right now, it’s tempting to think that these current warm temperatures will bring an early bloom, but there’s still plenty of potential for the weather to make things uncertain.

Early Bloomers

If you want an early taste of spring, some of the area’s early bloomers are just starting to appear. These were all taken this morning.

The Other Cherry Blossoms

Yes, these are cherry blossoms, and yes, they’re blooming. But they’re not cause for panic. They’re a different variety, and they’re on a very different blooming schedule, often flowering through the fall and into the winter. As you can see from the photos, their bloom is much more timid and patchy than the main ones. You can find more detail about autumn-blooming cherry blossoms here.

Flowering Fruit Trees at the DC World War One Memorial

There’s a small cluster of fruit trees near the World War One Memorial that often blooms early. They have some pretty pink and white flowers, but again their bloom is nowhere near as full-throated as the main cherry blossoms. I have information on how to find this group of trees here.

Others

How to Get Updates on the 2018 Cherry Blossoms

There are several ways to keep up to date with Cherry Blossom Watch updates.

CherryBlossomWatch.com This website is Cherry Blossom Watch HQ. New updates post here first. They're also more details and include more current photos than the other options. So be sure to bookmark and check back often. If you'd like to receive instant automatic notifications directly from the website when new updates are posted, take a look at the browser notification option below.

Instagram. Follow the dedicated Instagram feed at @cherryblossomwatch. The posts are usually shorter and less detailed, but they include freshly taken photos and post more quickly.

Facebook. Follow the Cherry Blossom Watch Facebook page. This is a good way to know when new updates are posted on the website, but because of the way Facebook's newsfeed algorithm works, there's no guarantee that every update will show up in your feed.

Email Newsletter. To the right of the page (or bottom, if you're using a mobile device) you can find a signup form for the 2018 cherry blossom watch email newsletter. This is sent out as a digest of the latest updates every week or so when new updates have been posted.

Browser Notifications. On desktop web browsers you can click on the red bell icon at the bottom right of the screen to sign up for push notifications. When new updates are posted you'll get a notification automatically right in your browser. Works in Chrome, Safari, and Firefox only, for now.

Licensing & Prints

Looking for travel stock photos or prints? I might be able to help. You can search my collection here: If you already have a buyer account with Alamy and would prefer to use that, you can search my images directly here.